St. Landry democrat., 1887-10-15


history of this church, and greater num-
bers 90 away not able to get in. Led by
cornet and organ the congregation sang
with great power the hymn:
The morning light is breaking,
The darkness disappears,
The sons of men are waking
To penitential tears.
THE Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, d. d.,
read and explained passages of Scripture
concerning the dawn of universal right
eousness. The subject of his sermon
was "Unoccuped Fields,' and the text
from Romans, chapter XIV, verse 20 ::
Lest I should build upon another mans
foundation" DR.. Talmage said:
Stirring reports come from all parts OF
America showing what great work the
churches of God are doing, and l con-
graduate them and their pastors. Mis-
apprehensions have been going the
rounds, saying that the outside benevo-
lences of this particular church are ne
elected, when the fact is that large sums
of money are being raised in various
ways by this church for all styles Of good
objects, not always through the boards
of our own denomination. This church
was built by all denominations of Chris
tians and by many sections of this land
and other lands, and that obligation has
led us to raise money for many objects
not connected with our denomina-
IL. hn
fact that we have not regu-
larly contributed to all the boards
commended. But l rejoice in that you
have done as a church magnificent
work, and am grateful that we have re-
ceived during the year by the confession
of faith in Christ seven hundred and
twenty-five souls, which fact | mention
not in boasting but in defense of this
church, showing it has been neither idle
nor inefficient The most Of our acces
sions have been from the outside world,
so that, taking the idea of my text, we
have not been building on other peoples
foundations
In laying out the plan of his mission
ary tour Paul sought out towns and
cities which had not yet been preached
to. He goes to Corinth, a city men
toned for splendor and vice, and Jerusa-
lem, where the priesthood and the San
hedrim were ready to leap with both
feet upon the Christian religion. He
feels he has especial work to do, and he
means to do it. What was the result
The grandest life of usefulness that a
man ever lived. We modern Christian
workers are not apt to initiate Paul.
We build on other peoples foundations.
If we erect church we prefer to have it
filled with families all of whom have been
pious. Do we gather Sabbath-school
class we want good boys and girls, hair
combed, faces washed, manners attract
i've. So church in this day is apt to
be built out of other churches. Some
ministers spend all their time in fishing
in other peoples ponds, and they throw
the line into that church pond and
jerk out a Methodist and throw the
line into another church pond and bring
out Presbyterian, or there is a re-
ligious row in some neighboring church,
and whole school of fish swim off
from that pond, and we take them all in
with one sweep of the net. What is
gained? Absolutely nothing for the
general cause of Christ. 1t is only as in
an army, when regiment is transferred
from one division to another, from the
Tennessee to the Potomac.
What strengthens the army is new re-
cruits. What | have always desired is
that while we are courteous to those
coming from other flocks, we build our
church not out of other churches, but
out of the world, lest we build on an
other mans foundation. The fact is,
this is big world When, in our school
boy days, we learned the diameter and
circumference of this planet, we did not
learn half. 1t is the latitude and longi
tude and diameter and circumference of
want and woe and sin that no figures
can calculate This one spiritual CONT
nent of wretchedness reaches across
all zones, and if I were called
to give its geographical bound
ary, I would say it is bounded on
the north and south and east and west
by the great heart of Gods sympathy
and love. Oh, it is great world Since
six o'clock this morning sixty thousand
eight hundred persons have been born,
and all these multiplied populations are
to be reached of the Gospel In Eng
land, or in our Eastern American cities,
we are being much crowded, and an acre
of ground is of great value, but out
West five hundred acres is a small farm,
and twenty thousand acres is no unusual
possession. There is vast field here
and everywhere unoccupied, plenty of
room more, not building on another
mans foundation.
We need as churches to stop lombard
ing the old ironclad sinners that have been
proof against thirty years of Christian
assault. Alas for that church which
lacks the spirit of evangelism, spending
on one chandelier enough to light five
hundred souls to glory, and in one carved
pillar enough to have made thousand
men pillars in the house Of our God for
ever" and doing less good than many
log cabin Westinghouse with tallow can
dies stuck in wooden sockets, and min
lister who has never seen college, or
known the difference between Greek and
ChoctaW. We need as churches to get
into sympathy with the great outside
world, and let them know that none
are so broken-hearted or hardly bestead
that will not be welcomed. "No!' says
some fastidious Christian, II don't like
to De crowded in church Don't put any
one in my pew" My brother, what will
you 90 in Heaven? When great multi
tude tnat no man can number assemblies